do you have a carbon monoxide monitor?

[mollysmum82]

And if so where do you keep it? I've been thinking of buying one for a while but the prices range anywhere from £1 o £50 so I have no idea what to go for. Do people tend to own more than one? I have a boiler and gas hob in one room and the hot water tank in another.

Many thanks

[SybilBeddows]

the £1 are probably the little stick-on spots that change colour; we have a proper one that would beep if there was a leak.

MIL's best friend lost a daughter to a carbon monoxide leak; when DB lived in a student house a heating engineer said 'Just as well you never lit that gas fire, it could have killed you.' Scary stuff.

they are essential IMO, same as a smoke alarm. We just have one though.
CO is about the same weight as air so you don't put them on the ceiling.

[mollysmum82]

Thanks so much Sybil. That's so tragic to hear and terrifying, I'm so sorry.

Can I ask where you got yours from? Many thanks

[SybilBeddows]

I can't remember as it was a long time ago but probably Argos!
we have one of those sells-everything hardware shops near us and that's where I would go to replace it.

[LeMousquetaireAnonyme]

I used to have some when the boiler was in my house/flat (not at the moment, communal heating).
I bought them from tesco i had both the cheap one which change colours for traveling and the bipping one (around 25 pounds I think) all kept in the room where the boiler is. The instruction on where to put them is on the pack.

A bit useless if you don't also checked/maintain your boiler every year by a registered technician.

[Pandsbear]

We have one - in the room that the boiler is in. Put there as the boiler service man said it was the right room to keep it in (boiler is ancient and in the old chimney - it's a back boiler). Ours came from British Gas I think. Our boiler is also serviced every year.

[exexpat]

I have two - one in bathroom, near the cupboard where the boilers are, and one in the kitchen (near gas cooker). They are the kind that beep, and I think came from B&Q - not expensive, anyway.

[LouMacca]

Yes we have one in the kitchen where the boiler is. The kitchen is next to the main living room where the gas fire is. Also got ours from British Gas, think it was £30.

[craftynclothy]

Ours is in the room with the boiler in. It plugs into the electric and beeps if there's a leak. I don't think it was very expensive (maybe £10-£15) but I think it was on offer at the time.

It has occasionally been set off by the kids (it has a test button on it) which has scared them half to death

[Highlander]

you're not supposed to put them in the boiler room.

[RunningOutOfIdeas]

I have one that is combined with a smoke detector. It is on the ceiling of the corridor where the boiler cupboard is.

[MoreBeta]

Ours is in the basement where the boiler is.

I dont want to walk down the cellar steps into an invisible cloud of CO.

[MissingMySleep]

I have ours outside the kids room. I had carbon monoxide poisoning some years ago but recovered, so figure that is my chances done. Would recomend the ones that beep about £25 and from argos or B&Q

[said]

Think they're meant to be about 8 feet from the boiler. Ours went off when there was no leak at all - Transco man said most are rubbish

[mollysmum82]

Thank you everyone. I bought a couple from Argos and have so much more peace of mind now

[MaryAnnSingleton]

we have one -in the kitchen,on top of the cupboard,midway between boiler and gas cooker - B Gas man said this seemed a good position- it was about £30 but worth it I think. I was poisoned by carbon monoxide once in Spain,staying in a farmhouse with a scary gas water heater in the bathroom - was awful.

[abas]

My daughter died from carbon monoxide poisoning two months after her wedding and 18 days after her 31st birthday. Please don't buy a cheap alarm and certainly not the spots that change colour. We recommend more than one alarm and it is worth looking at the Which report on alarms on buying an alarm from a reputable manufacturer. We recommend sealed units to get away from the urge to take out the batteries when something like the remote fails. Katie would have been 38 tomorrow and we are asking people to post pics with their alarms on The Katie Haines Memorial Trust FB page. NB a CO alarm is a second line of defence, the first is to make sure that all your carbon burning appliances are maintained and serviced regularly by a registered engineer.

[Titsywoo]

I have 2. One in the kitchen which is part of the smoke alarm and is hooked up to the mains. There is a gas cooker and oven in the kitchen although is does have some kind of shut off valve if not ignited within 30 secs or something. I also have one in my sons room. The boiler is in the garage and the vent for it is near his bedroom window. It's about 1.5 metres away and pointing in a different direction but better to be safe IMO. I think I am going to get another for our room as the garage is next door and I have heard stories about it getting through brick walls before.

[PinkSwimGoggles]

you need the beepy kind. the colour change ones are a bit pointless.
Ideally in any room with an open flame and next to the wall of rooms where neighbours have an open flame.

[Afreshstartplease]

I have one beepy one in the kitchen which is where the boiler is and also gas hob

[COGasSafety]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/1205932-do-you-have-a-carbon-monoxide-monitor

[COGasSafety]

Please buy a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm to EN 50291. The cost varies from about £12 to about £20 or more for a digital read out of parts per million of carbon monoxide in the air. The alarm comes with instructions about where to put it. The battery ones are very easy to use and you can take them with you when you travel and I have been informed you can put them in your hand luggage. They do save lives.

For further information please read the following:-
CO-Gas Safety is an independent registered charity that has been run almost completely by volunteers since its launch in 1995. Please see our website //www.co-gassafety.co.uk

Please watch our one minute film about Sue who had carbon monoxide poisoning – could save your life www.co-gassafety.co.uk/one-survivors-story/

Please also see //www.co-gassafety.co.uk/about-co/prevention/

As I hope you are well aware carbon monoxide (CO) is a deadly gas which can be emitted from faulty cooking or heating appliances. CO can't be sensed using human senses & less than 2% of CO in air can kill in 1-3 mins.
www.hse.gov.uk/foi/internalops/hid_circs/technical_osd/spc_tech_osd_30/spctecosd30.pdf see Para 74 table 23 page 26
12800 ppm immediate effect, unconscious after 2 to 3 breaths, danger of death in 1 to 3 minutes.
Please note that 12800 Parts Per Million of CO in the air is less than 2%.

Deaths and injuries from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning are terrible tragedies as well as costing the taxpayer £178 million a year www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmcomloc/50/50iii132.htm

Please also see our leaflet www.co-gassafety.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/leaflet-word-version-16-08-16-compressed-for-web-24.08.16.pdf & see part near the end in green re the Corfu case.

Since 1995 we have continually pressed for better awareness of the dangers and for the gas emergency service to carry and use equipment to test gas appliances for CO and provide parts per million of CO, if any to the consumer in writing.

We have an extremely valuable database of deaths and injuries since 1995 that has been inspected and greatly improved by the suggestions from an independent statistician Dr Craggs for the past 6 years. Please see www.co-gassafety.co.uk/information/co-gas-safetys-statistics-of-deaths-and-injuries/ & www.co-gassafety.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/CO-GAS-SAFETY-STATISTICS-ON-DEATHS-AND-INJURIES.pdf & www.co-gassafety.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Charts-for-presspack-Jan2016.pdf & please scroll down for our list of deaths www.co-gassafety.co.uk/data-menu/deaths/

Please see www.northerngasnetworks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Giving-carbon-monoxide-nowhere-to-hide.pdf particularly at page 4. This is very hopeful.

Stephanie Trotter 07803 088688